I love a good slice of carrot loaf, especially with cream cheese icing and walnuts. It’s comforting, delicious, and nostalgic for most. It can be challenging to create my favorite baked goods into Weight Watchers friendly treats because so much is packed into a dessert. Memories, nostalgia, and family time. But this carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting is so good! It hits the spot for that carrot cake craving.
Carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting is a dense loaf, but that helps keep it moist. Remember, when baking with applesauce, yogurt, and even mashed banana, you are not going to have a fluffy loaf or muffin that you would when using butter and oils. It did take me a little time to get used to the texture of baked goods when changing up the ingredients and I know it might not be for everyone, but I’ve come to love it. And you will love how low it keeps your Weight Watchers points while you’re indulging in a sweet treat! You can make this loaf with or without the icing, but since it’s low in points either way, I suggest going for the whole thing.
Three reasons why you need to make this recipe!
Nothing hits the spot like a slice of carrot cake does.
It’s probably my favorite way of eating veggies! The natural sweetness of carrots adds flavor and moisture to this loaf, which pairs amazingly with the tart cream cheese.
It’s a fun, healthy way to have the beloved carrot cake.
If you want to tap into nostalgia with a piece of dessert, but don’t want to blow your Weight Watchers points for the day, eat this carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting rather than a “real” carrot cake slice.
Carrot loaf keeps really well.
You can bake this on a Sunday and have dessert for a whole week. It keeps up to seven days in the fridge, and it’s easy to freeze as well.
Ingredients you need to make Carrot Loaf With Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ⅓ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups shredded carrots
FOR THE ICING
- ¼ cup softened, light cream cheese
- ¼ cup icing sugar (confectionary sugar or white powdered sugar – they’re all the same)
- ½ tablespoon light butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional topping for carrot loaf)
How to make Carrot Loaf With Cream Cheese Frosting (step by step):
- Preheat the oven to 375F, and spray a regular sized loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together your eggs and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
- Stir in the yogurt, applesauce and vanilla extract.
- Mix in the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.
- Fold in the carrots.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake it in the oven for 45-50 minutes- until baked all the way through.
- Let it cool before removing it from the pan.
- To make the icing, mix the cream cheese, icing sugar, butter, and vanilla together until creamy. Spread the icing on the loaf then sprinkle with walnuts. Makes 10 slices.
Makes 10 slices. Nutrition info for 1 slice: Calories 155, Fat 4 g, Saturated fat 1.1 g, Carbs 23 g, Fiber 1.4 g, Sugars 8.7 g, Sodium 204 mg, Protein 5 g.
WW Points
- Eggs 0 points
- Brown sugar 5 points
- Nonfat plain Greek yogurt 0 points
- Unsweetened apple sauce 0 points
- Vanilla 0 points
- Cinnamon 0 points
- Nutmeg 0 points
- All purpose flour 26 points
- Baking powder 0 points
- Baking soda 0 points
- Shredded carrots 0 points
FOR THE ICING
- Softened light cream cheese 6 points
- Icing sugar (confectionary sugar, white powdered sugar) 9 points
- Light butter 2 points
- Vanilla 0 points
- Chopped walnuts 6 points
5 points per slice based on the WW app recipe creator, with or without the chopped walnuts.
If you’re using an older version of WW, check out these points below.
Freestyle smart points- (blue & purple) 4 (with icing and walnuts) using WW recipe builder * without icing and nuts 2FSP, with just icing 3FSP
Smart Points- (green) 5 using WW recipe builder
Points plus- 3 using PP calculator
Different ways to change up this recipe:
- Icing and walnuts are optional. The loaf with no icing or nuts is 2SP per slice. Just icing is 3SP and icing and nuts is 4SP.
- This is a dense carrot loaf due to the ingredients used, it might sink slightly once it has cooled down. But that’s okay – it stays moist!
Tips and Tricks for Making Carrot Loaf With Cream Cheese Frosting:
- I used a food processor to shred my carrots. If you do this, I suggest letting the carrots sit on a paper towel for a few minutes before mixing them into the batter, otherwise, they will add a ton of moisture, and that also can make the loaf sink or not bake well.
- Make the icing while the loaf is baking and then store it in the fridge until you’re ready to ice loaf.
- Store this carrot loaf in the fridge or freeze it once it’s cooled. I also recommended slicing before freezing so you can pull out individual slices as needed.
Similar recipes you’ll enjoy:
- Orange Glazed Yogurt Muffins
- Weight Watchers Friendly Apple Pie
- Simple Pumpkin Muffins for Lazy Bakers
Carrot Loaf With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/3 cup non fat plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup apple sauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1.5 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cup shredded carrots
- FOR THE ICING
- 1/4 cup softened light cream cheese
- 1/4 cup icing sugar, confectionary sugar, white powdered sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp light butter, soft
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- Top loaf with 1/4 cup chopped walnuts *optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F, and spray a regular sized loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together your eggs and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
- Stir in the yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
- Mix in the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices.
- Fold in the carrots.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake it in the oven for 45-50 minutes- until baked all the way through.
- Let it cool before removing from the pan.
- To make the icing, mix the cream cheese, icing sugar, butter, and vanilla together until creamy. Spread the icing on the loaf then sprinkle with walnuts. Makes 10 slices.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Will have to try this recipe. Your carrot cake donuts were a hit with my WW group.
Thanks for all your yummy recipes.
Yay, so glad they all enjoyed them 🙂
Thank you for sharing, excellent healthy cake recipe. I made into ten muffins (but 12 would be fine too) using homemade apple butter instead of applesauce and some cream cheese frosting I already had. They were tasty. (Note that my teen commented that he could tell it was a low-sugar recipe but was quickly pacified with 1/2 teaspoon more frosting. My sugar-hound spouse was happy, as was I.)
Hi Marla, thanks for sharing, so glad everyone enjoyed the muffins, great idea making them into muffins 🙂